Kisses and Fervent Wishes
by skrewtkeeper
Summary: Lily Potter has a *very* important question for her father before she goes off to school, but can Harry give the response she needs to hear? Fluff!


**Kisses and Fervent Wishes**

Maybe it was because he had grown up with the Dursleys…or maybe it was because he was used to the fact Lord Voldemort was once determined to murder him, but whatever the reason, Harry could immediately sense whenever someone was peering over him while he was in bed.

The presence wasn't evil as far as he could feel, but the presence was unexpected—it certainly _wasn't_ Ginny so it must've been one of his children. Hesitant nonetheless, Harry carefully opened his eyes.

His eleven-year-old daughter was standing over him, shock flittering over her face as soon as he grabbed his glasses and placed them on his nose. "Lily?" he asked softly, his voice still thick with sleep. "Is something the matter?"

She appeared regretful—for what? Waking him?—but spoke anyway. "No, Dad, I—" She glanced furtively to the empty space on his immediate left and suddenly, he understood.

"Did you want to talk to Mum instead? She left for Quidditch, remember?"

Lily nodded quietly. "Yeah, I know. I thought that maybe I could—talk to you instead?"

Harry smiled at her awkwardness feeling very much that he had once been in her place before. He tapped his bedside lamp with a lazy flick of his finger and moved to sit up so he could maintain eye-contact better. After a moment, he gestured her forward and after the briefest moments of hesitation, Lily climbed on top of his lap.

"I see you're up late," Harry began quietly as he held her, glancing at the clock that flanked his lamp—it was two in the morning. Before she could say anything, Harry said, "I was wondering if you were too old for this like your brothers are…"

Harry felt her tense and stroked her hair soothingly. "No, I don't mean that. You can be as old as you want to be, but that doesn't mean I'll mind you sitting on my lap."

He watched her smile out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself at having a daughter that resembled her mother so much. Finally, Lily sighed in defeat. "I really wanted to talk to Mum about this instead, but since school's starting tomorrow—"

"She'll be there to see you off, love," Harry assured her gently. "She always makes the time to do so."

Lily shook her head. "No, I need more time than a few minutes—" Her suddenly looking down at her knees made Harry realize that she didn't want the whole world to overhear either. He sympathized with her greatly. "I almost didn't want you to wake up so I didn't have to…ask…"

"What is it, love?" Harry asked softly, kissing the top of her soft hair and wishing she would stay this way forever. Harry was slightly wary of his little girl growing up quickly like her elder brothers were doing, but he was aware it would eventually happen. He was just glad he had a few years yet before she became completely unrecognizable; but for now, she was his little Lily.

"I—I just wanted to know what...I wanted to ask how it felt when…Dad, I'm not sure this is going to work. Maybe I _should_ wait for Mum."

Harry smiled softly once more. "Just spit it out, love. It's lots easier that way, but if you want to tell Mum instead, that's alright too. I just think it would be easier to say it now since you're already here."

"What does a—" Lily took a deep breath and tried again. "What does a kiss feel like?"

Harry let out a low whistle at the question. He had always known it would come to this…perhaps his little girl was growing up faster than he had originally suspected.

"You mean, like this?" Harry asked her before kissing her cheek softly. Lily giggled in response.

"No, Dad! I mean—I mean like when a boy my age kisses me…?"

Harry let out another low whistle again, all the innocence disappearing as quickly as it had come. "Now that's a tough one to answer love…Has James been bragging to you at all?"

Lily turned around to meet his eyes, stunned. "How did you know?"

Harry smirked. "First off, James hasn't kissed anyone; I can bet you ten Galleons—"

"But he said—!"

Harry grinned at her before rubbing his nose against hers. "He was fooling, love. I have a feeling it must be soon since he's been talking to you about it, but why didn't he tell you how it feels like? Why did you have to go and ask your dad about it if he already knew?"

Lily pouted in a very Ginny-like way. Harry only smiled more broadly in response. "He said I was too little to understand which is why he couldn't tell me…"

"My Lily, _little_?" Harry asked aghast before tickling her. Over fits of giggles, Harry stopped his hand and spoke again. "I can't imagine why he would think you're so little if you're going off to Hogwarts tomorrow. That is a very big step to take and certainly not something for someone _little_."

Lily smiled, warmed by her father's words. "So how does it feel when you do—?"

"Much like this, I suppose," Harry murmured gently before bringing her very close to him in a hug.

Lily quirked her head at the change in the mood. "Warm and sleepy?" she asked innocently.

Harry guffawed and Lily could feel his laughter rumble against her. "Are you sleepy, love? Mostly, it just makes you happy, if you're really concerned, but it makes you feel warm too…Maybe sometimes that could mean sleepy…"

"Oh, is that it then?" Was that a note of disappointment in her voice?

"Did James make it sound like it would suddenly rain sparkles from the skies?" He asked with a laugh.

Lily nodded. "He said it like something about it being a 'life-changing' event—"

Harry shook his head near her neck. "That it may be, but don't let your brothers coddle you into doing something you're not yet ready for…"

Lily too shook her head quickly. "I'm not ready for it anyway. It just seems gross to me in a way, but nice in another way…"

Harry internally heaved a great sigh of relief before saying, "I'm glad you feel that way, love and it _is_ nice as long as you save it for somebody special. Not everyone should be able to kiss you."

"Why not?"

Harry thought a moment before explaining. "Well, kissing somebody you really like is something special. It's not something _everyone_ should have because you don't feel the same way about certain people, do you? Do you like Hugo or Uncle Ron more?"

He knew she adored them both and imagined her face screwed up in concentration. "Well that's silly," she said at last, "Of course I like them both."

Harry bit his lip; she hadn't completely understood. "No, love—I mean this; which one do you _love_ more, not like. Perhaps 'like' was the wrong word. If you had a choice of marrying one of the two—" he felt her response building up at once, "—if Uncle Ron perhaps wasn't married and he and Hugo were unrelated to one another, which one would you prefer marrying?"

It was a poor example, but to his relief, Lily caught on. "That's even _more_ silly, Dad. Of course I'd rather marry Hugo because he's not as old as—" she broke off suddenly and Harry could almost hear the choir chorus in the background as understanding filled her view. "_Oh_," she breathed.

Harry nodded again, a smile curling around the edge of his lips once more. "There you see, love. You feel differently about different people. Don't worry, it will make a lot more sense after you're older and you really like someone…"

Lily appeared as though she was going to ask more, but heaved a great yawn and Harry chuckled for a moment at her expense. "I think this means you should go back to bed. Come on, I'll tuck you in." Harry led her by the hand and Lily willingly followed.

Upon reaching her bed, Lily yawned again and Harry had to bite his tongue from laughing at how adorable she truly was. He tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and retreated, a soft smile on his lips as he reached the door, but Lily wasn't finished.

"Dad?" she whispered.

His eyebrow rose as he rotated to face her. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Anything for my Lily," he said, bowing slightly in a knight-like fashion. He earned the giggle he was seeking and turned to leave again when he caught the words that made all of these late nights worthwhile.

"I love you."

He paused a moment, his hand on the doorknob and turned to look at her. Her breathing was deep and even as if those three words had held her bound to the land of wakefulness until she had said them. Unable to resist, Harry crossed the threshold again and kissed his little girl's cheek before whispering, "I love you too, my little flower."

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN:** _Happy Valentine's Day! Hopefully not too sappy- (haha, expect fluff when I write about Harry being a father though... :D) I really don't know where this came from- I just woke up on Sunday and the idea was there. :D I'm not too happy with the ending (this worked out so much better in my head. *head desk*), but beggars can't be choosers, right? Gah, I don't know why I don't like the ending either... x_x _


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